Accordion shift mechanism



May l2, 1936.. Q SCHMm-r A I 2,040,570

ACCORDION SHIFT MECHANIS M May 12, 1936 o. SCHMIDT 2,040,570

ACCORDION SHIFT MECHANISM Filed May 3l, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 QELQQQQQQQ? Q :le 6 0 QQQQQQQQ? E g QELQQQQQQQ S Q 6 QQQQQQ El e Patented May 12, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ACCORDION SHIFT MECHANISM ration of Illinois Application May 31, 1935, Serial No. 24,304

18 Claims.

This invention relates to accordions and like musical instruments, and is particularly concerned with mechanism for operating or shifting a port-controlling slide by which the tonal quality of the music is varied. One object of the invention is to provide such a mechanism of relatively simple form which shall be economical to manufacture and easy to install in the instrument. Another object is to provide a shift mechanism which shall be light and responsive in operation so that its use shall not interfere with the performers technique. A further object to which one form of the invention is directed is to arrange the actuator for the shift in a convenient location directly above the keyboard, so that it may be reached by the performer in many instances without removing his fingers from the keys, resulting in some novel effects not heretofore obtainable. Other objects will appear as the description proceeds. The invention consists in certain features and elements of construction in combination as herein shown and described and as indicated by the claims.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a partial end elevation of a piano accordion at the treble end with parts of the casing broken away to show the shift mechanism embodying this invention.

Figure 2 is a View of said shift similar to Figure l, but on a larger scale, and showing the parts in a different position.

Figure 3 is a sectional View taken substantially as indicated at line 3-3 on Figure 2.

Figure 4 is in the nature of a bottom plan view of the key support showing a modified form of shift mechanism mounted thereon and including parts of the reed chest associated With the keyboard.

Figure 5 is a detail plan View of the shift meche anism in a different position from that illustrated in Figure 4.

Figure 6 shows another stage in the movement of the shift.

Figure '7 shows a further stage in the cycle of operation of the shift.

Figure A8 is a detail section taken as indicated at line 8-8 on Figure '7.

In piano accordions the treble reeds which are controlled by the piano-type keyboard are usually D0 arranged with more than one reed to each note; in the instrument chosen for illustration herein each key of the piano-type keyboard controls three reeds, two of which may be tuned to substantially the same pitch, and one of which is tuned to another note in harmony therewith, as

for example, the octave of the principal tone. Figure 1 shows the usual key-supporting structure, I, and keys, 2,-the latter projecting from under the edge of the removable cover or gallery, 3, which encloses the valves, 4, associated with the respective keys, 2, for operation thereby. Each of the valves, 4, is shown as covering three ports, 6, 'l and 8, of which it may be understood that the ports, 5 and represent the fundamental tone to be produced by they depression of a given key, while the port, 8, represents a supplemental tone in harmony therewith. As shown in Figure 2, the reeds for the supplemental tones may be assembled in a single reed bank or block, 9, which is secured at the inner side of the wall containing the ports, 6, 'I and 8. This reed block, 9, isY fitted with a ported metallic slide or shutter, I0, shown in Figure 3 as having rectangular ports, II, adapted to register with similar ports, I2, in the wall or cover, I3, of the reed bank, 9, so that by sliding this shutter, I0, to move its ports, II, out of registration with the ports, I2, the corresponding reeds will be thrown out of service.

The mechanism to which this invention particularly relates is designed for thus shifting the slide or shutter, I0, to close or open the ports, I2, at will so as to produce tones which include those of the supplemental reeds, or which lack them, as may be desired. This mechanism includes a rockable member in the form of a plate, I4, pivoted at I5 to a Xed mounting plate, I6, and having a crank pin, I'I, projecting through a suitable clearance opening, I8, in the ported metal wall, I9, upon which the valves, 4, seat. As seen in section in Figure 2, the cover, I3, of the reed block, 9, is mounted against this Wall, I9, with a sheet of rubber or other suitable packing material, 2), interposed. The rocking o1r tne member, I4, through a limited angle, transmits motion from the crank pin, Il, to the shutter, I0, by virtue of the engagement of the end of said crank pin in a slot, 2 I, in the shutter. This rocking of the member, Ill, is accomplished by means of an .actuator in the form of a presser bar, 22, which, as shown in Figure 1, is mounted to extend above the keyboard near the inner ends of the keys, and preferably at the middle portion of the keyboard.

The presser bar, 22, is carried by a pair of lever arms, 23, fulcrumed at 24 in supporting bracket arms, 25, projecting forwardly from the mounting plate, I6. Beyond the fulcrum, 24, the levers include arms, 26, shown as extending at right angles to the arms, 23, and preferably the two levers are rigidly joined by a tubular connection, 21, so that they function as a single bell crank lever when the bar, 22, which also connects them is operated. At their' inner ends the arms, 26, being spaced apart by the length of the tube, 21, are adapted to engage thrust links, 28, which are connected by pivots, 29, to the rockable member, I4, at opposite sides of its fulcrum pivot, I5, respectively. Thus the depression of the actuating bar, 22, will cause the upward movement or" one of the links, 28, for rocking the member, I 4, in one direction, and an exactly similar movement of the bar, 22, if transmitted through the other link, 28, will cause rocking of the member, I4, in the opposite direction.

It is therefore arranged that the links, 28, shall function alternately in transmitting movement from the actuator or presser bar, 22. This is accomplished by forming each of the links, 28, with the laterally extending arm, 30, projecting toward the other link, and these arms are of such length that their end portions engage each other when the member, I4, is rocked by a thrust transmitted through either of the links, 28. A spring, 3I, reacting between the links below their pivots, 29, tends to hold them apart at their lower ends and maintain these lower ends in contact with sounddeadening pads, 32, on the inner faces of the bracket arms, 25. As the bar, 22, is depressed, the pressure of the inner end of one of the arms, 26, against one of the links, 28, tends to hold that link in contact with said arm, 26. The other link, 28, due to the tilted position of the rocking member, I4, as seen, for example, in Figure 3, is out of contact with the other arm, 26, and ls therefore free to swing about its pivot and is thus forced to swing as the short transverse arm, 30, of the first link engages the corresponding arm, 36, of the other link cam-wise during the upward travel of the active thrusting link. This results in swinging the other link, 28, inwardly at its lower end, as indicated in dotted lines in Figure 3, so that its lower end will avoid engagement with the corresponding arm, 26, of the actuator, which thus swings upwardly past the outer edge of the deflected link, 28. The manual pressure upon the bar, 22, having thus effected rocking movement of the member, I4, and corresponding shifting of the slide or shutter, IU, the lingers are removed from the bar, 22, and the retractor spring, 33, returns the actuator lever, 23--26, to normal position in which the bar, 22, rises and the inner ends of both arms, 26, are lowered. This permits the deflected link, 28, to be snapped outwardly by the spring, 3I, so that its lower end extends just above one of these arms, 26, ready for encounter when the bar, 22, is again depressed. Such encounter, of course, operates to rock the member, I4, back to its previous position; and during this movement the interfering cam ends, 30, of the short arms of the links, 28, swing the inactive link inwardly to avoid engagement with the inactive arm, 26, of the actuator in the same manner as just described for the other link. Thus the successive actuations of the bar, 22, result in alternately opposite movements of the rocking member, I4, and the connected shutter, I6. Each upward stroke of the arms, 26, may be limited by suitable stop means limiting the sliding movements of the shutter, I 0, (but not shown) and the downward retraction of the arms, 26, by the spring, 33, is limited by means of a stop lug, I 6a, shown struck out of the back plate, I6, which serves to mount the mechanism on the outer face of the ported Wall, I9. The ends of the arms, 26, are preferably provided with tubular rubber cushions, 26a, which silence the engagement of the one arm, 26, with the stop, I6a, and also the engagement of either arm, 26, with the corresponding link, 28, in the working stroke.

A special advantage of the construction just described is that it permits location of the manually-operable bar, 22, directly over the keyboard so that it may be most conveniently reached by any available finger of the hand which is playing upon the keys, 2, and in many instances may be actuated without releasing the other iingers from the keys. It is also a desirable arrangement because it locates the mechanism directly under the removable cover or gallery which in the construction shown is held in place by a pair of push pins, 34, passing through end flanges, 35, in the gallery, 3, and into blocks, 36, upstanding from the surface of the ported wall, I8. Thus upon removal of the gallery, 3, the parts are all readily visible and available for repair or adjustment. Since the normal position of the bar, 22, is the same for either position of the shutter, II, an indicator is provided in the form of a slidable signal bar, 31, mounted back of a window, 38, in the end flange, 35, of the gallery which is uppermost and therefore visible to the player when the accordion is held in operative position. This slide, 31, is connected to one end of a lever, 39, while the other end of said lever is connected by a link, 46, to a lug, 4I, on the rocking member, I4, so that movements of the latter and of the connected shutter, I I, are transmitted to the signal bar, 3i', which may have areas of contrasting color to be displayed at the window, 38, to indicate the respective positions of the shutter at any time.

Figures 4 to 8 illustrate a modified form of mechanism which is shown as mounted principally under the keyboard support or frame, indicated at 56. The mechanism comprises a rocking member, 5l, pivoted at 52 and having an arm which actuates a sliding link, 53, connected with the crank arm, 54, or a rock shaft, 55, which, in turn, actuates one or more slides or shutters, 56. At opposite sides of its fulcrum pivot, 52, there are connected to the rocking member, 5I, a pair of links, 51, formed with slots, 58, which guide the links for straight-line movement by engagement with guide pins or screws, 59. An actuator bar, 66, is hingedly secured in the edge of the key support, 50, and is connected by a short link, 6I, with a thrust member, 62, having twin terminals, 63, respectively aligned with the ends of the links, 51. Each link is provided with a movable terminal in the form of a bell crank pivoted to the link at 64, and having one arm, 65, normally disposed opposite one of the twin terminals, 63, of the thrust member, 62. The other arms of the bell cranks are seen at 66 extending inwardly, that is, each toward the other link, and they are of such length as to interfere and collide with each other when the links move in opposite directions incident to the rocking of the member, 5I. Light springs, 61, normally hold the terminals, 65, in alignment with the terminal, 63. Stop shoulders, 68, limit the outward swing of the arms, 65, by engaging the ends of the links, 5l', themselves, but the terminal, 65, of either bell crank may be swung inwardly when its arm, 66, collides with the similar arm, 66, carried by the other link, 51.

Thus, as seen in Figure 4, the lefthand link, 51, has its terminal, 65, positioned for immediate engagement with one terminal, 63, of the thrust member, 62. As the latter is moved toward the pivot, 52, of the rocker, l the other link, 51, will travel in the opposite direction, but the tail, 66, of its bell crank, encountering the tail, 66, of the bell crank on the active link, 5l, will be swung through a sufficient angle (see Figure 5) to shift the inactive bell crank arm, 65, out of alignment with the approaching terminal, 63, (at the righthand side of the thrust member, 62) and thus encounter of these parts will be avoided, as seen in Figure 6, and the full stroke of the thrust member, G2, will be permitted. By means of return springs, 69, in the hinges of the bar, B, the latter returns to its initial position, carrying with it the thrust member, 62, (see Figure 7) after each actuation. As this return movement is completed the terminal, 65, of the bell crank which has been swung inwardly, will snap back to its outer limit in alignment with the right-hand terminal of the member, 62, as seen in Figure '7. 'I'hus the successive actuations of the bar, G0, rock the member, 5I, alternately in opposite directions, and accordingly shift the slides, 56, alternately in opposite directions, for closing and opening the corresponding ports as desired.

It will be seen that either of the shift mechanisms is relatively simple in construction and certain in operation. Each involves the principle of providing the actuator with two terminals which operate the rocking member through two links alternatively so that movement of the actuator in the same direction results in successive movements of the rocking member and its connected slide or shutter valve in opposite directions. While there is shown and described herein certain specific structure embodying the invention, it will be manifest to those skilled in the art that various modifications and re-arrangements of the parts may be made without departing from the spirit and the scope of the invention, and that the same is not limited to the particular form herein shown and described, except in so far as indicated by the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In an accordion, a piano-type keyboard and reeds controlled thereby, a slide valve for supplemental control of certain reeds, and means for shifting said slide valve at will including an actuator disposed directly over the keyboard.

2. In an accordion, a piano-type keyboard and reeds controlled thereby, a slide valve for supplemental contol of certain reeds, and means for shifting said slide valve at will including an actuator bar extending above a plurality of the keys near their inner ends.

3. In an accordion, a piano-type keyboard and reeds controlled thereby, a valve for supplemental control of certain reeds, and means for operating said valve at will including a depressible actuator disposed directly above and adjacent the keys near their inner ends and movable in the same direction as said keys.

4. In a piano accordion which includes a reed chest with a ported wall, valves controlling the ports, a keyboard extending at an angle to the wall with keys connected to operate said valves, and a supplemental slide valve adjacent the wall for controlling certain ports therein; means for shifting said slide valve at will comprising an actuator lever fulcrumed at an axis spaced from the outei` side of said ported wall, said lever having an arm extending from said axis toward the wall and an arm extending in the opposite direction provided with a finger-piece disposed directly above the keyboard adjacent the keys,

and mechanism` engagedby the first mentioned arm of said lever for transmitting motion therefrom to the slide valve.

5. In an accordion, a shift mechanism comprising a pivoted rocking member, a slide connected for reciprocation by said member, an actuator having a part movable toward and from the pivot of the rocking. member and a pair of links pivotally connected to said member at opposite sides of its pivot and extending toward the actuator, together with means rendering said links alternately available for transmitting movement from the actuator to said rocking member so that alternate movements of the actuator in the same direction will cause opposite movements of said member and the connected slide.

6. In an accordion, a shift mechanism comprising a pivoted rocking member, a slide connected for reciprocation by said member, an actuator having two driving faces movable together toward and from the pivot of the rocking member, a pair of links pivotally connected to said member at opposite sides of its pivot respectively and extending respectively toward the two driving faces of the actuator for engagement therewith, and means for shifting the engageable ends of said links alternately out of alignment with said driving faces when the actuator moves toward the rocking member so that each link avoids engagement with the actuator when movement is transmitted therefrom by the other link to said rocking member.

. 7. In an accordion, a shift mechanism comprising a pivoted rocking member, a slide connected for reciprocation by said member, an actuator having two driving faces movable together toward and from the pivot of the rocking member, a pair of links pivotally connected to said member at opposite sides of its pivot respectively and extending respectively toward the two driving faces of the actuator for engagement therewith, spring means arranged to urge the end portions of said links into position for such engagement, and cam means for shifting said end portions alternately out of such position during successive rocking movements of the pivoted member.

8. In an accordion, a shift mechanism comprising a pivoted rocking member, a slide connected for reciprocation by said member, an actuator having two driving faces movable together toward and from the pivot of the rocking member, a pair of links pivotally connected to said member at opposite sides of its pivot respectively and extending respectively toward the two driving faces of the actuator for engagement therewith, transversely extending arms on said links positioned to engage each other during the rocking movement of the said member for forcing the engageable end of one link out of alignment with the corresponding driving face of the actuator to permit a full strokeof the latter in transmitting movement to the rocking member.

9. In an accordion, a shift mechanism comprising a pivoted rocking member, a slide connected for reciprocation by said member, an actuator having two driving faces movable toH gether toward and from the pivot of the rocking member, a pair of links pivotally connected to said member at opposite sides of its pivot respectively and extending respectively toward the two driving faces of the actuator for engagement therewith, transversely extending arms on said links positioned to engage each other during the rocking movement of the said member for forcing the engageable end of one link out of alignment with the corresponding driving face of the actuator to permit a full stroke of the latter in transmitting movement to the rocking member, and spring means to return said link to alignment during the return stroke of the actuator so that the next stroke may be transmited through said returned link.

l0. In an accordion, a shift mechanism comprising a pivoted rocking member, a slide connected for reciprocation by said member, an actuator having two driving faces movable together toward and from the pivot of the rocking membei', a pair of links pivotally connected to said member at opposite sides of its pivot respectively and extending respectively toward the two driving laces oi the actuator for engagement therewith, each of said links having a short arm extending toward the other link adjacent their pivotal connections to the rocking member, a spring reacting between the links intermediate their pivots and the ends which engage the actuator, tending to hold them in alignment with the latter, guides against which said ends of the links are checked in position for engagement with the actuator, said short arms being dimensioned to interfere with each other in the rocking motion of the rocking member so that one link is forced to swing about its pvot in opposition to said spring and far enough for its end portion to clear the approaching driving face of the actuator while the other link transmits the movement to the rocking member.

11. In a piano accordion which includes a reed chest with a ported wall, a reed block secured to the inner side of said wall and including a slidable shutter valve, operating mechanism mounted on the outer side of said wall including a pivoted rockable member and means for rocking it, said member having a crank pin extending through a clearance opening in the wall and engaging said shutter for shifting it.

12. In a piano accordion which includes a reed chest with a ported wall, a keyboard extending at an angle to the wall, a reed block secured to the inner side of the Wall and including a slidable shutter valve, means for shifting said valve at will comprising an actuator disposed directly above the keyboard adjacent the keys, and mechanism for transmitting motion from the actuator to the shutter and mounted on the outer side of the ported wall, said mechanism including a pivoted rocking member with a crank pin extending through a clearance opening in the Wall and engaging said slidable shutter.

13. In an accordion, a shift mechanism com,- prising a pivoted rocking member, a slide connested for reciprocation by said member, an actuator having two driving faces movable together toward and from the pivot of the rocking member, a pair of links pivotally connected to said member at opposite sides of its pivot respectively and extending respectively toward the two driving faces of the actuator for engagement therewith, together with a terminal pivotally carried on the end of each of said links normally disposed for engagement with the actuator. each terminal having a part extending laterally toward the other whereby the inter-engagement of said parts during the rocking movement of the rocking member serves to swing one terminal out of position for encountering the actuator, thus permiting the other terminal to transmit a full stroke of the actuator to the rocking member.

14. In the combination dened in claim- 13, spring means associated with said pivoted terminals for holding them normally in position for encountering the actuator whereby the terminal which is swung away from such position is returned automatically as the actuator recedes in its opposite stroke.

15. In an accordion, a reed chest with a ported wall, a reed block secured to the inner side of said wall opposite the ports thereof, a slide valve member on the inner side of said wall controlling said ports, and operating means for said slide valve including a member extending toward the face of the valve through a clearance opening in the wall and directly engaged with said valve member.

16. In a ,piano accordion which includes a reed chest with a ported wall, a keyboard associated therewith, a reed block secured to the inner side of said wall opposite the ports thereof, a slide valve member on the inner side of said wall controlling said ports, and means for shifting said valve at will comprising an actuator disposed directly above the keyboard adjacent the keys, a member extending through a clearance opening in the wall and directly engaging the slide valve, and means for transmitting motion from said actuator to said member.

17. In an accordion, a reed chest with a ported t Wall, a reed block secure-d to the inner side of said wall opposite the ports thereof, a slide valve member on the inner side of said wall controlling said ports, and actuating means for said slide valve including a member extending directly f rom the face of the slide member through a clearance opening in the wall with manual operating means for said member outside the ree-d chest.

18. In an accordion, a reed chest with a ported wall, a reed block secured to the inner side of said wall opposite the ports thereof, a slide valve member on the inner side of said wall controlling said ports and operating mechanism mounted on the outer side of said wall including a pivoted rockable member with means extending through a clearance opening in the wall and directly connecting said rockable member with the slide valve, together with an actuator having a part movable toward and from the pivot of the rocking member and a pair of links pivotally connected to said member at opposite sides of its pivot and extending toward the actuator. together with means rendering said links alternately available for transmitting movement from the actuator to said rocking member so that alternate movements of the actuator in the same direction will cause opposite movements of said member and the connected slide.

OTTO SCHMIDT.

Cil 

